


Found Family

by wizardofahz



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-06-03 00:29:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6589402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wizardofahz/pseuds/wizardofahz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“She has a powerful effect on people,” Agent Danvers had said of Kara, but Astra is growing to believe that it applies to the agent as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Found Family

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this before “For the Girl Who Has Everything” aired, so, uh, canon? What canon?

“Alex!”

At Kara’s scream, Astra uses her x-ray vision to see through the two offices, three labs, and conference room that stand between her and her niece. Kara is on her knees, surrounded by Maxwell Lord and his guards. The bodies of numerous DEO agents are scattered about, Agent Danvers among them.

Astra can see Agent Danvers’ stilted rise and fall of the human’s chest as she struggles to breathe, can hear her too fast, thready heartbeat. All her senses can feel the life draining from the agent’s body. She wonders if Kara can too.

Probably not though because Lord seems to have done something to her.

“No, no, no, no,” Kara pleads as she struggles ineffectively against her captors. “Please.” 

Astra’s fists clench. She wants nothing more than to run in there, to help her beloved niece, and tear Maxwell Lord apart limb from limb. But she is General Astra for a reason. She knows how to pick her battles, and this one would be a sure loss. She knows Maxwell Lord has been developing some sort of weapon to use against the Kryptonians, something separate from Kryptonite. Whatever they’ve done to Kara would be effective against her as well. 

“I’ll do whatever you want,” Kara says, desperation coating her every word. “Please. Please just let me save her first.”

Interesting. Despite the presence of the other DEO agents, Kara seems fixated on Agent Danvers alone.

That long string of Kryptonian insults — or Maxwell Lord, as the humans call him — towers over Kara. 

“Agent Danvers made her choice,” he says, taunting her with his trademark charming smile. “And you don’t have a choice about doing whatever I want.”

Kara lunges at him. Or tries to at least. She’s easily held back by his guards, who drag her away at his signal.

Astra takes a breath to center herself then she’s off to the room. She kneels beside the unconscious Agent Danvers. She does a quick scan with her x-ray vision, detects internal bleeds and broken bones. Even with her intervention she isn’t convinced Agent Danvers would survive. But then Astra remembers Kara’s pleas, hears them so clearly in her ears, sees Kara desperate struggling in her mind’s eye. She scoops Agent Danvers up in her arms and within seconds she’s back at Headquarters.

She commands the doctor to do what he can. She can see the questions in the eyes of her forces and tells them that Agent Danvers is leverage. Keeping her alive is important to the cause. 

Her position is unwittingly helped by the press conference Maxwell Lord holds to expose his illegal arrest at the hands of one Agent Alexandra Danvers. Curiously he doesn’t mention the DEO. He leaves Agent Danvers’ agency a mystery. Perhaps he’s aware that he can only make so many enemies at once. Perhaps he thinks the presence and overwatch of a dangerous mysterious agency will spread the panic and fear that he purportedly feels. Regardless, it paints a target on Agent Danvers’ back, marks her as a person of interest. It makes her useful to them.

Astra checks in on Agent Danvers occasionally. She doesn’t do it too often lest she give the impression that she cares about the human. When reports from the others tell her that Agent Danvers has transitioned from a total lack of responsiveness to flitting in and out of consciousness, Astra pays her a visit. 

She sits in what has becomes the human’s room for half an hour before Agent Danvers’ features contort with pain, which Astra takes as a sign that she has regained consciousness.

“I’m sorry,” Astra says as Agent Danvers grits her teeth and clenches shut already closed eyes. “We don’t have the proper medical equipment to deal with your race. I would have returned you to your people, but your actions have made you, I believe the term is,  _ persona non grata _ .”

Agent Danvers’ eyes flutter open and flit in her direction, but they don’t focus on her. Eyes closing, labored breaths punctuating her words, she says, “If you’re keeping me alive just to torture me for information, you might as well let me die.”

Astra observes her for a moment, admiring her bravery. “I saved you because my niece cares about you. Why?”

Agent Danvers opens her eyes again to give Astra an insolent look. She braves the labored breaths to say, “I don’t know how you missed it, but she cares about everyone. Superhero, remember? That’s kind of their thing.”

It’s ridiculous that Agent Danvers wastes so much energy and oxygen to sass at her. Astra smirks down at her with approval. It’s no less than she’s come to expect from this human.

“She was particularly concerned for you,” Astra points out.

Apparently Agent Danvers doesn’t find this conversation very scintillating because she lets her head flop away from Astra in lieu of a response. Astra sighs. It seems that speaking to Agent Danvers at her weakest, at her rawest, is not as fruitful as she’d hoped it would be.

As she turns away, a weak hand grabs her wrist. 

“Where’s Kara?”

In her insistence, Agent Danvers attempts to push herself off the bed, body trembling at the exertion.

Silly, frail human.

Astra gently pushes her back down. “She’s not here.”

“Did he expose her too?”

There’s genuine, overwhelming concern in her eyes that catches Astra off-guard.

“No.”

The breaking news story has remained focused on one Alexandra Danvers and her illegal arrest of Maxwell Lord. Astra has to endure his smug face time and time again when she watches the news. It does little for her mood, but it’s the price she has to pay to keep up with human affairs. 

There has been nothing about Supergirl except the dwindling mentions of her absence. The humans have come to rely on her so much even for the most basic things. It’s pathetic.

Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Astra feels Agent Danvers relax under her hand, watches her drop easily back into oblivion. 

The next time they talk it’s Agent Danvers that initiates the conversation.

“What happened to Supergirl?”

“Maxwell Lord has taken her.”

Agent Danvers swears. 

It’s not an unexpected reaction, but Astra still examines her curiously as she asks, “Why did you arrest him?”

“Are you kidding me?” Agent Danvers asks, incredulity permeating everything from her words to her facial expression. “I would’ve thought you of all people would understand why.”

“I do,” Astra concedes. “However I understand now that doing so was illegal.”

“What’s it matter to you?”

“I’m trying to understand you.”

Agent Danvers scoffs and mutters under her breath, “Don’t bother.”

Astra hears her clear as day but continues on undeterred, “You called my niece ‘Kara’.”

That gets Agent Danvers’ attention. “What?”

“You called her ‘Kara’, not ‘Supergirl’.”

“No, I didn’t,” Agent Danvers replies defensively.

“You don’t remember,” Astra observes. 

The fact that Agent Danvers knows the identity of Supergirl’s alter ego isn’t surprising. It’s the DEO’s job to know such things. The nature in which Agent Danvers used Kara’s given name is what intrigues Astra. That it was a slip brought about by her muddled mental state means Agent Danvers’ default identity of her niece is Kara, not Supergirl. What exactly that means, Astra is curious to find out. 

“She is important to you.”

“I told you before: she has a powerful effect on people,” Agent Danvers deflects.

“You are important to her.”

“Maybe I have the same effect.”

And though Agent Danvers spits out the words with sarcasm, Astra mulls them over thoughtfully. “Maybe you do.”

Agent Danvers looks at her, thrown by her words. Astra doesn’t know why she would be. Kara clearly cares deeply for her. Astra has seen the way the other DEO agents defer to her. The Director of the DEO respects her enough to have made her the Acting Director in his absence. Astra adds this to the many mysteries the human being in front of her holds.

Moving back to the topic of their previous conversation, Astra says, “You asked if he exposed her too. He has not.”

Agent Danvers isn’t at all surprised. She simply nods and says, “It makes sense.”

Then again if Kara’s identity had been exposed, Astra supposes she would have fewer questions.

“Exposing her identity would take away her safe haven, would it not?” she asks.

Agent Danvers shakes her head. “Humanizing her works against him. It makes her more real to people. If Supergirl is missing… Well, she mysteriously appeared one day. It’s not the weirdest thing if disappears just as mysteriously. C’est la vie. On the other hand if Supergirl who also happens to be Kara D—” She stops abruptly. “Let’s just say, there are people who would make a lot of noise to find out where she’s gone or why she’s missing.” The thought stokes a fire in her. “What are you doing to get her back?”

Astra arches an eyebrow. “Is that not your people’s job?” 

“She’s your niece,” Agent Danvers shoots back. “And if she really matters that little to you now, then how about the enemy of your enemy is your friend?”

In less than a second, Astra is at Agent Danvers’ side, her hand pressing against the human’s throat. Agent Danvers struggles against her but glares back at her defiantly all the same.

Astra relaxes her hand and pulls back. “Do not dare to presume you know what’s important to me,” she growls.

She’s not sure that Agent Danvers even hears her. The human’s too busy trying to catch her breath, one large gasp falling apart into a coughing fit. 

Astra treads carefully around Agent Danvers for a while after that, but the human doesn’t seem to begrudge her the incident. She seems to take the mistreatment as the natural byproduct of pushing Astra’s buttons. Cause, effect. Can’t have one without the other.

As Agent Danvers heals and starts to spend more of her time conscious than unconscious, Astra wonders what exactly she’s supposed to do with this human. She hadn’t exactly thought it through when she’d made the decision to save her life. 

Astra knows Agent Danvers must be going stir crazy. While she thinks training would be fun, it is clearly not an option. Neither is walking around the base. More than being a strenuous activity, it is also a security risk.

So when one of the auxiliary systems fails, Astra sees it as an opportunity. 

“You are an engineer, yes?” Astra says in lieu of a greeting as she enters Agent Danvers’ room and plops down a mess of parts and wires on the table. 

“Uh.” Agent Danvers stares at the table, confusion written plainly across her features. “Yeah.”

Astra waves her hand at the table. “Fix this.”

“You’re asking  _ me _ to fix this,” Agent Danvers clarifies.

“The power cell is broken, and we have run out of spares. My soldiers have retrieved one of your—” Calling it an equivalent is generous. Astra’s nose curls at even the thought of it. “—planet’s attempts at a power cell, but we have not dealt with such… primitive technologies for many centuries.”

Agent Danvers eyes the parts warily. “Is this some sort of trick?”

“I thought you might be bored.”

Agent Danvers gazes at her steadily, and Astra can see her thinking, assessing the situation. Astra would do the same in her position. She knows what the Agent is thinking. This could be a trick to find out how much the humans know about Kryptonian technology. These pieces could be part of something more dangerous than an auxiliary system that could be used to harm the humans. There are so many ways this situation could be more insidious than it seems.

Agent Danvers doesn’t appear convinced though she does reach out to examine one of the components.

Astra leaves Agent Danvers to it. She barely gets a foot out the door before she bumps into Non.

“This is not a good idea,” he says. 

Astra walks down the hallway, Non trailing behind. “Our engineers have enough to worry about with Myriad,” she says. “To burden them with such a trivial matter would be a disservice to our objective. If you are worried about sabotage, don’t be. Any sabotage to that particular auxiliary system will not affect the others.”

“Regardless, you are giving her access to our technology. There is a great deal she can learn from what you have given her.”

“And what do you imagine she would do with that information?”

“The humans’ technology remains primitive in comparison to our own. I have little doubt that they value knowledge of our technology and that, given the possibility, Agent Danvers would trade such knowledge for her freedom.”

Astra stops short. Turning to him, she says, “Do you mean to tell me that you have such little faith in our forces that you expect a mere human to escape them?”

Non grimaces. “No, but—”

“I thought not. And if we do trade Agent Danvers back to the humans, what do you suppose she could teach them? They have had access to our technology before.” Astra steps closer to him. She may be shorter than Non, but it does nothing to diminish the effect of intimidation. “You forget your place, Lieutenant. I am your General. Being my husband does not allow you the liberties you have taken to question me whenever you see fit. Do you understand?”

“Yes, General.”

“You are dismissed.”

Astra stares at Non expectantly until he bows his head and walks away. 

Early reports from Agent Danvers’ guards say the human spends the first few days looking instead of tinkering. But once she does start, it’s not long before Astra’s summoned.

“You wished to see me.”

“I figured it out,” Agent Danvers says, rocking slightly on her feet and looking pleased with herself. “You haven’t been thinking dumb enough.” 

Astra nods along, lets Agent Danvers’ words wash over her as she rambles on about physics and engineering. She pays enough attention to take away two things: first, Agent Danvers does indeed have the familiarity with Kryptonian technology that she expected, and second, there’s something in Agent Danvers’ enthusiasm that reminds Astra of Kara. The latter thought is accompanied by a pang in her chest. 

“Well done, Agent Danvers,” Astra says. 

Agent Danvers hesitates for a moment then says, “You can call me ‘Alex’. I mean, I’m not an agent anymore, right?”

“Very well.” Astra nods. “Alex.” 

Somehow it feels right, using the agent’s given name instead of her title. Astra’s not sure when her respect turned to fondness, but it has.

Alex continues to pester her about Kara whenever she gets the chance. Astra’s answer is always the same. She tells Alex that they’re looking, but she doesn’t give specifics.

On the day that her scouts are finally convinced that they’ve found Kara, Astra gathers her troops together. They are about to embark when Alex’s guard, a non-Kryptonian, stumbles into the room. Alex is right behind him wielding his weapon. Astra nearly rolls her eyes at the sight.

“What is the meaning of this?” she barks.

Alex pushes her guard aside and storms right up to Astra. “If you think you’re going to rescue my little sister without me, you’ve got another thing coming.” 

The former Fort Rozz prisoners stare at her. Astra in particular gives her a funny look. 

“What? You guys act like just because I don’t have your super-hearing I can’t hear at all. I know you’re going after her.”

“Sister,” Astra comments thoughtfully. That certainly makes sense.

“Yeah, sister,” Alex says impatiently. “So are we doing this, or what?”

Astra’s soldiers look to her expectantly. She knows which answer they anticipate. It’s not the answer she gives. She can’t help but admire the strength and determination of the still too pale, too thin human. “Very well.”

Astra glances around at her troops, daring them to challenge her. None of them do.

Astra separates her soldiers into units and keeps Alex with her. Her mandated risk, her responsibility.

Maxwell Lord’s hidden compound is lit in red light, a precaution against the Kryptonians he likely anticipated, which makes sense. Astra’s sure red light is easier to come by than Kryptonite. It matters little. It may strip the Kryptonians of their powers, but before Fort Rozz, they were soldiers first. They still have their training. And the change in light color does nothing to the other alien races.

As luck would have it, Astra and Alex are the ones to find Kara. The room she’s kept in is lit in a way that resembles what the humans call the Christmas spirit: red sunlight to take away Kara’s powers, kryptonite to weaken her. 

“Little One?” Astra keeps her voice gentle. Her heart breaks as the ball that her niece has curled herself into flinches away from her.

She is surprised by the force that yanks her backward. She didn’t know the human had it in her. 

“Kara?” Alex says, crouching in front of Kara and taking Astra’s place. “Kara, it’s me. It’s Alex.” 

At the familiar voice, Kara’s head jerks up.

“Alex?” 

Whether Kara pulls Alex down or Alex falls into her embrace, Astra doesn’t know. They’re in each other’s arms now, and that seems to be all that matters to them. 

“Alex! I thought you were dead,” Kara whimpers. “They told me you were dead.”

“I know, but I’m not. I’m right here,” Alex reassures her. “You’re going to be okay. We’re going to get you out of here.”

They speak at the same time, words running over each other, but neither seems to care. 

Though Astra wears her Kryptonite inhibitor, she still remembers her time in the DEO cell with General Lane. This room with its red light and Kryptonite makes her uneasy. Besides, time is of the essence. “We must go, Little One.”

It’s then that Kara realizes Alex’s “we” doesn’t mean the DEO.

“Aunt Astra?” Kara asks, her voice equal parts suspicion and confusion. 

“It’s okay,” Alex reassures her, and immediately Kara appears more amenable to the idea of going with her aunt.

Astra can’t help the surge of jealousy and hurt that consumes her. Kara was her Little One, is still her Little One despite the fact that she’s no longer a child. But if Kara has someone in her life that she can trust so deeply, then Astra supposes she should be grateful. It’s not like she was there for the rest of Kara’s childhood. 

“Are you okay to walk?” Alex asks Kara, examining her for injuries. 

Kara puts on a brave face and nods. She struggles to get up and leans on Alex, who herself is not at her healthiest. They nearly topple over, but somehow Alex manages to catch themselves against the wall. Astra grimaces at the sight. She almost offers to carry Kara, but the sisters are clearly reluctant to separate.

The mission is only half successful. Though they retrieve Kara, Lord manages to get away.

Back in Alex’s room, the bed is pushed into the patch of sunlight that streams through the window, so Kara can recharge and heal. Kara is curled up with her head in Alex’s lap, while Alex runs her hand through Kara’s hair. 

Astra hovers in the doorway loath to interrupt, but eventually Alex looks up and notices her.

“She finally fell asleep,” Alex whispers.

Astra approaches. She reaches out to Kara but pulls back before making contact. Kara looks so small, so fragile. It sets her simmering rage to boil.

“She should never have revealed herself to your people.”

Alex looks at her for a moment then says, “You did that.” 

Though her words are said without judgement or accusation, Astra bristles. “I didn’t know she was alive.”

“True, but you did have a plane sabotaged to take out a DEO agent.” Astra knows what Alex is going to say before the words leave her mouth. “That agent was me.”

“She did it to save you.”

So much makes sense now that she knows they’re sisters.

“I was so mad at her,” Alex says, eyes closing as she relives the memory. She shakes her head. “No, not mad. Scared. Scared because she was putting herself in danger. Scared because then I had to tell her the truth about me and my job.” She looks down at Kara fondly. “But she was so excited. I lectured her, told her she couldn’t take it back. And of course she told me she didn’t want to.”

“I wish I had known that Alura saved her.” Astra pauses as Kara shifts in Alex’s lap. When Kara doesn’t wake up, Astra continues, “There’s so much I regret.”

They had spent so much time and energy fighting each other. Astra takes full responsibility for that. At the time, it had been easier to soldier on, to pretend that finding out her niece is alive wasn’t a shock to the system. Now, she’s still clear on her mission objective. Her methods, on the other hand, she’s not so sure about.

“She’ll forgive you,” Alex says, smiling down at her little sister. “She’s probably forgiven you already.”

The most reassuring part isn’t so much the words as it is the fact that Astra can believe them. Kara has a big heart. She’s shown that time and time again.

There’s still a part of her though that feels forgiveness has to be earned, so Astra says, “I meant what I said the first time I met you. What I’m doing, I do to save your planet.”

“You picked a funny way to go about it.”

“The reactions to your planet’s declining state have not been unlike those on Krypton. What choice did I have?”

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Alex shrugs. Being accustomed to explaining Earth lingo to unfamiliar Kryptonians, she seamlessly continues, “It’s an Earth saying. It means—”

“I can guess what it means.”

“Humanity,” Alex says, shaking her head at the thought. “We can be slow to learn, but you could at least try. Kara would call it a start.”

Astra sighs in frustration. “I could not make my own sister see reason,” she laments. If she couldn’t convince her own people on Krypton, how is she supposed get through to this primitive, yet incredibly proud and stubborn planet?

“According to what you told Kara, you did,” Alex counters. 

Astra remembers telling Kara how Alura had promised to fight for her cause before sending her to Fort Rozz. It amazes her how few secrets there seem to be between Kara and Alex. They are so unlike what she and Alura had become. 

Alex continues, “Maybe in her own way, Alura was trying to save you by sending you to Fort Rozz. I mean, you lived, and she didn’t, right?”

It’s an entirely too hopeful thought, and Astra pushes it aside. “Who would I start such a collaboration with? You are here with me and in no position to make agreements for your people.”

Amused, Alex says, “There are billions of other people on this planet. Pick one.”

Astra makes an unimpressed noise. “People like Maxwell Lord.”

“Hey,” Alex protests. “You wouldn’t want all Kryptonians to be judged based on… Non, would you?” Astra gives her a look. She’s more amused than anything else, but Alex backtracks nonetheless. “No offense. It’s just… Kara never really seemed to like him, and I trust her judgement.”

“They rarely spent time together. Non never did like the house of El.”

“The honorable house of El too uppity for him?”

Astra frowns at the word  _ uppity _ but figures she’s extrapolated the meaning correctly. “Not… uppity.” The word feels odd on her tongue. “But they did have status and power. I believe your people’s phrase for his sentiment is  _ if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. _ Our planet was in danger. If anyone could have enacted the changes that would have saved our planet, it would have been them.”

Alex continues to comb her fingers through Kara’s hair, her thumb occasionally ghosting over the scar to the right of Kara’s left eyebrow.

“Did Kara ever tell you how she got that scar?” Astra asks.

Alex shakes her head. Her eyes sparkle with curiosity, eager to learn more about Kara’s life on Krypton. 

Astra finds herself all too willing to indulge that curiosity. “She was chasing me around her room, and she fell against a table. We were not invulnerable on Krypton as we are here. I was terrified that I had hurt her, but she got right back up.”

“She will this time too.” 

Astra looks at Alex, who has remained entirely too calm for the situation, and recognizes the mask of a soldier fighting to uphold a strong front. “This must be difficult for you too.”

“It is,” Alex acknowledges. “I don’t think I’m going to let Kara out of my sight for a while.” Her voice goes cold. “And when I do, it’ll be so I can go give Maxwell Lord the punishment he deserves. He won’t know what hit him.”

Astra scoffs. “You assume he will still be in one piece for you to get your hands on.”

Unlike Alex, Astra has no plans to wait. As much as she loves Kara, the moment her scouts tell her they’ve found Lord, she’s going to pay him a visit. A violent one.  

Alex looks at her, features hardening with cold determination. “If you go after him, you better be damn sure I’m there with you.”

“Me too,” Kara says, her quiet voice startling them. They had been so focused on staring each other down that they didn’t notice Kara stirring.

Alex smiles down at her. “Hey, you’re awake.” 

Astra finds the quickness of her transformation from frigid, vengeful soldier to tender big sister astounding. 

“I’m sorry,” Astra says. “We should not have disturbed you.”

“S’okay.” Kara rubs tiredly at her eyes. The motion pulls at Astra’s heart strings. She hasn’t seen Kara do something so innocent and vulnerable in so long. Their previous interactions on this planet had always forced Kara to play either interrogator, protector, or diplomat.

“How’re you feeling?” Alex asks, ever the concerned big sister, helping as Kara attempts to sit up.

“I’m okay,” Kara says as she leans against Alex and lets her head drop on her big sister’s shoulder. She amends her statement as Alex gives her a look. “I’m tired, but I’ll be okay.”

Alex kisses Kara on the top of her head and pulls her in tighter. “Yeah, you will be.”

“So when’re you going after Maxwell Lord?” Kara asks, getting back to the topic both Alex and Astra had hoped to avoid in her conscious presence.

“You’re not coming,” Astra responds adamantly.

Kara’s eyes narrow. “Don’t treat me with kid gloves. Maxwell Lord didn’t.”

“It’s not about kid gloves,” Alex says, exchanging a look with Astra.

They’re both soldiers. They’ve both done things they’re not proud of and learned to live with themselves in spite of it. And while it’s manageable for them, it’s not something either of them wants Kara to experience.

“Let’s talk about this later,” Alex deflects. “You need to rest.”

“I agree,” Astra says before Kara can protest. 

Kara grumbles, but faced with a united front, she complies, snuggling into her sister’s side. Alex looks up, and Astra can read the gratitude in her eyes.

Astra sits with the sisters until they both fall asleep. She watches over them and vows to protect them both: her niece and the sister of her niece. Her found family.


End file.
